Google My Business for your company

Google my business is a tool that enables companies to list their products or services on Google search results. The tool helps businesses optimize their profile to allow local users to find them easily. It’s important to note that anyone can create a business profile on Google and it’s something I highly recommend for all my SEO & web development clients.

As a business owner, you need to register for an account and then you’ll gain ownership of the business and have the right to edit your listings. Often this involves a verification process to ensure your legitimacy.

A Google my Business account is essential as it helps your customers find certain details faster without clicking on your website. These are details such as contact information and working hours along with services and products you offer, which are displayed on your company’s Google listing, thus making it easy for your potential customers to contact you.

A common question I’m asked is that your potential customers can find the information they need without clicking through to your site. On the contrary, it is often beneficial to your business particularly if you offer local services.

There are two main reasons why I’d recommend a Google my Business Account. The first being for SEO and the second for local marketing.

Let’s look at each of the two benefits.

Google my Business for SEO

Search engine optimisation is not only necessary for your content but also for your business profile. As you describe your business or answer queries, you can use certain keywords to help Google understand your business. Google will then highlight these keywords so that your business is easily discoverable by your target audience.

Another useful benefit is to stand out among other businesses (often your competitors) by showing Google that your company is trustworthy. A huge way to prove this to Google can be to engage with your audience by responding to their queries in the most accurate way possible. To enhance your chances of ranking for your products or services, keep updating your profile with images and updated descriptions.

Also, strive at having positive reviews from your customers, this in particular is something I try to do myself. These reviews help google recommend your services to other people. Remember to encourage your audience to leave reviews as a business with many positive and genuine reviews is likely to earn more trust and thus customers.

Google my Business for Local Marketing

You can gain more visibility in your local market by using keywords to target your business location. For example, you can target the keywords “best SEO expert London”, and anyone in that location can find your business.

Using your Google my Business account, you can also edit your business profile to include more information. For example, you can include your working hours and days. You can also give directions, contact information, pricing, and a link to your website.

Using the account, you can also gain insights on what keywords your customers are using to find you as well as giving you an idea of how the visitors interact with your profile. You can also gauge how your business is fairing compared to other similar businesses. This way, you can update and improve your business to suit what customers are looking for.

A business account is also helpful in guiding your decision to expand your business. The insights gained from the account can help you get to know your customers more. Most importantly, you can tell where most of your customers are coming from. Customers use Google maps to find directions to your business; you can, therefore, know an untapped region you can expand your business to in the future.

Did you also know that you can engage your local audience using posts just like other social platforms? Yes, you heard that right! You can make posts on your business profile via Google my Business dashboard. You can also respond to comments on the post and even activate direct messages via a button click.

How can I Setup a Google my Business Account?

Since you now understand the importance of a business profile and a GMB account, let’s look at how you can set up your account.

Step 1

The first step is to create a Google account if you don’t have one already. If you have an account, you’ll only have to log in with your existing email.

Step 2

As you create the account on https://www.google.com/business/, remember to use your official domain email.

Step 3

In the next step, you’ll need to add your business name. Check if your company name appears on the drop-down menu. Suppose it doesn’t click on the “Add” icon. You’ll then need to select the most appropriate category for your brand.

Step 4

The next step involves adding your location. Here, you’ll indicate whether your business has a physical location or not. If you have a location where visitors can come, you need to add an address. You can also indicate on Google maps where your business is situated. If you don’t have a physical shop, you can indicate whether you do deliveries and what areas.

Step 5

For this step, you need to add contact details to your business. It can be a phone number, email, website, or a page on Facebook. Whichever you choose, make sure customers can reach out to you at any time.

Step 6

In the final step, you’ll indicate whether you want to receive updates and notifications. If you wish for such an arrangement, you can click “yes.” Finally, click the Finish button, after which you will receive an email to verify your business.

Parting Shot

Google my Business account is one sure way to help you manage and optimize your business profile. With the account, you can gain more visibility on the search engine and boost your customers’ confidence.

If you would like some help with optimising your account or general SEO services, please contact me for a free 30 minute consultation.